Kastellorizo Customs

In addition to Greek customs there are many unique Kastellorizian customs and traditions we would like to embrace and preserve in this section.

Name Days, not birthdays, are celebrated in Greece. Great significance is attached to the name given a child, and the process of choosing a name follows fairly rigid conventions. The idea of a baby being given a name just because the parents like the sound of it is unknown in Greece. Even naming a child after someone as a mark of respect or admiration is unusual.

Children are never named after parents, but the eldest son in a family is often called after his paternal grandfather and the oldest daughter after her paternal grandmother. Names are usually of religious origin. Each island or area in Greece has a patron saint, and people living in that area often name a child after its patron saint.

Each saint has a special feast day. A person’s name day is the feast day of the saint after which they were named. On someone’s name day, open house is held and a feast is laid on for the friends and neighbours who call. They will give a small gift to the person whose names day it is, but there is less emphasis on the giving of presents than there is in birthday celebrations.

Greek name days include not just religious names but also names which go back to the beginning of Greek culture. These names would include those of mythical heroes and the famous Greek philosophers such as Odyessus, Alexander, Socrates, Plato and Helen.